Various types of protective circuit arrangements exist. For example, circuit arrangements for the protection of constituents, components, or assemblies that are based on the principle of current limiting. In other words, when a maximum current is reached, provision is made that said current is not exceeded over the long term. This can be implemented, for example, by switching field effect transistors into the current path, the gates of said transistors being discharged to the extent that the current is not exceeded. Depending on the current intensity, the power dissipation of the field effect transistors in this context can be substantial.
Another type of protective circuit arrangement includes a temperature-dependent resistors whose response behaviors depend on the ambient temperature. For working ranges of the temperature-dependent resistors from, for example, −40° C. to +85° C., however, a protective circuit arrangement dimensioned for +85° C. is practically ineffective at −40° C. In addition, the response time of such circuits can be on the order of seconds, which does not provide rapidly effective protection. The time required for the protective circuit arrangement to become effective can be sufficiently long that the constituent, component, or assembly to be protected is already destroyed.